One of the most frustrating things for writers is a blank page and the lack of any "brilliant" ideas to fill it. It's not that there aren't any glimmers of inspiration, but sometimes, the cup of "fresh, innovative and exciting ideas" does not runneth over. There are so many YA books available it can feel like all the cool ideas have already been taken.
There's good news and its name is Research! There are weird and little known facts out there just begging to be made into novels. Check out the Odd News reports on Yahoo. Look at headlines and make up your own story to go with them. You can even just Google things that interest you personally and all kinds of stuff comes up. Let one link take you to another and another until you find something that sucks you in. Just keep digging around until you find gold!
I love this approach. My novel , The Boyfriend Plague, was sparked by a newspaper article and my new one, The Sidewalk's Regrets, came from one line in a documentary.
ReplyDeleteI'll take my inspiration where I can get it!
I do this all the time! It's not often on purpose but I'll be scrolling through a newspaper or the internet and suddenly I'll get an idea for a story. Just goes to show that inspiration can come from anywhere!
ReplyDeleteGoogle is a very good friend!
ReplyDeleteMy dad does the research for me. He's great at it.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Shelly
'There are weird and little known facts out there just begging to be made into novels.'
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT perspective, Lexa! I love it. Such things are ripe for not only inspiration but to stoke those embers into flame!
Hey that's an awesome idea! Thanks for spreading the love :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic ideas.
ReplyDeleteI've always been interested in strange news stories.
Yeah, this is a great idea because you never know when you'll read about something that strikes your fancy.
ReplyDeleteAwesome ideas! I like looking at folklore and less known myths, and using them as ideas when I'm lacking.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions for where to find story ideas! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI feel fortunate in that I never lack for ideas. If all else fails I have a few finished stories that might pass the muster if I revised the hell out of them :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great advice Lexa! Julie
ReplyDeleteThis is some very good advice. Way back in the day, Shakespeare had to wait for some king to be visited by a ghost and then go insane, or for two young lovers to commit double suicide before he had something to write about. But whenever I sign on to the computer, there are 6 or 8 stories that tragic just on the welcome screen... so I pop a prozac and get to writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Lexa. I'm collaborating on a steampunk novel, so your post is timely. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy research. Sometime I get so involved in reading new stuff I forget to write the story. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! I really should start a file. Sometimes I come across things and think the news story would make a good book, but I don't keep the info. I like the idea of looking at odd stories to get inspired. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Ideas are pretty much all around us... it's about removing our blinkers are writers... that's something my hubby always tells me... To remove my blinkers. It's not always related to writing though, since I tend to walk around in my own little world.
ReplyDeleteI think ideas are everywhere - the hard bit (for me) is deciding which will work. Starting with a few facts sounds a very good plan for giving the writer confidence in the growing idea.
ReplyDeleteI was planning to explore this same topic on my blog tomorrow. I like your ideas for combating writers block. I often look at the newpaper and wonder if there's a story in it that I can spin into a novel.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! I write a short story a week, and I can tell you that I exhaust ideas quickly that way. Research is a great solution to this.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea to research to find new ideas. I do something similar with my flash fiction by finding prompts online and then running with the sentence or phrase.
ReplyDeleteI don't so much have a problem coming up with ideas as keeping my ideas from running wild.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love to wander around on the Net and satisfy my curiosity. I've stumbled across lots of very cool and quirky potential plot points this way. Good reminder!
ReplyDeleteWonderful idea, Lexa! The little golden nuggets are out there... just waiting to be discovered and transformed into a storyline...
ReplyDeleteI love using news stories as the basis for my stories. Great tip!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, Lexa! Thanks for the tip :)
ReplyDeleteI love weird facts, now I'll try to put them to good use. Thanks Lexa.
ReplyDeleteSUCH great advice. You never know what will trigger those creative tangents! And I also find that Pinterest helps with this as well!
ReplyDelete:0)
A great idea! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteOr opal, or turqouise, or chrysocolla. Don't limit yourself to one kind of rock. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. I always drag my feet when it comes to research, but once I start digging, the inspiration always comes.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE research. It's so inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI also love research and I find by the time I've finished researching, I'm newly inspired. Often the story goes in a different direction than I'd expected when I first began researching too.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I research movies - so many good ideas there!
ReplyDeleteYeah, probably not what you meant, but it works.
My current YA project has a lot of research that I need to do to write it. I make sure to find balance: spend some time on research, some time on writing. It's so important not to use research as an excuse not to write. But, I agree, research is so inspiring and often unblocks my creative blocks :)
ReplyDelete